Opinion: Attack on Canadian energy sidetracks a real conversation

Demonstrators use a mock oil pipeline to block the entrance to the Canadian Embassy in central London on April 18, 2018, as they protest against the Trans Mountain oil pipeline from Alberta's oilsands to the Pacific Ocean. Canada's energy industry has become a target of international groups, says columnist. TOLGA AKMEN / AFP/Getty Images

While we continue to hear concerns from the United States about other countries working to influence the U.S. electorate, here in Canada we have seen a continuous flow of money into our nation focused on destroying one of our largest industries.

Among the biggest culprits are the Rockefellers, who recently showed their cards by taking a shot at Canada’s oil and natural gas industry in a New York Times column.

At one time the Rockefellers were considered the wealthiest family in the U.S. John D. Rockefeller made his fortune in oil and founded Standard Oil, which was the largest oil company in the world in the early 20th century. Standard Oil’s roots grew to become some of the biggest oil and natural gas companies, including ExxonMobil and Imperial Oil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BP Amoco.

Today, the Rockefeller family and its various foundations — built off the wealth generated by the oil and natural gas industry — want to eradicate that same industry and along with it hundreds of thousands of Canadian jobs.

In a recent Times oped, Rockefeller Family Fund director Lee Wasserman directly attacked Canada. He alleged our federal government’s acquisition of the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline “underscored the lack of business rationale” of the oilsands and implied Canada is not committed to climate leadership.

It leads one to ask, why would Wasserman dedicate space in his article to attack another country’s energy industry?

The answer: The Rockefellers are behind one of the most damaging anti-Canadian oil and natural gas campaigns in history.

Decades after Standard Oil was founded, kick-starting North America’s energy industry, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a foundation established by John’s grandchildren, launched the Tar Sands Campaign in 2008. The goal is to stop expansion of Canada’s oil industry and stop or stall pipeline expansions to prevent Canadian resources from reaching global markets.

The campaign includes California-based groups Tides Foundation and Corporate Ethics, New York-based National Resource Defense Council and Canada’s own Pembina Institute, among others. On its website, CorpEthics admits to recruiting U.S. and European groups to join the cause.

The Rockefeller fund has funnelled millions of dollars into anti-industry groups like the David Suzuki Foundation, Sierra Club, 350.org and Greenpeace — all of which have campaigns specifically targeting Canada’s oil and natural gas industry.

By funding these anti-industry groups, the Rockefellers want to tell Canadians how we should manage our Canadian natural resources.

It would be easy to dismiss all of this as nothing more than a conspiracy theory, but the details of the fund and its money trail are easy enough to find with a few keystrokes.

The fund and those groups reliant on its funding have targeted Canada’s oil and natural gas industry. It’s been strategic, calculated and funded by one of the biggest anti-energy corporations in the world.

There are more than 7.5 billion people on earth and nearly one-third, or 2.7 billion, live in energy poverty; burning coal, wood or animal dung to heat their homes. There is an opportunity for Canada to help create global energy equality by supplying the world with our sustainably produced oil and natural gas.

Beyond the argument of tackling energy equality, which is extraordinarily important, if groups like the Rockefeller fund were serious about wanting to reduce global emissions, then we should be having a conversation about doing that on a global scale and not simply within Canada’s borders.

This is a tough conversation to have but even tougher is planning a course of action. But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean you don’t do it.

We should be having a conversation about the role Canadian oil and natural gas can play in reducing the world’s emissions, and making a positive impact on global climate change. But as long as the Rockefellers and the groups they continue to fund keep sidetracking the discussion, this important conversation will never take place.

Stacey Hatcher is vice-president of communications at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

Postmedia is pleased to bring you a new commenting experience. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Connect With Us

Submit A Letter

Make sure to include your full name, phone number and address. Only your name will appear in the newspaper or on our website.